[JustinID]

I'm not planning on switching cars in the immediate future, but I've been kind of day-dreaming/brainstorming over what might be a nice setup in the future. If anyone has experience, or even a good opinion, of which of these setups might be the most "enjoyable" (I know, very very subjective) then chime in.

Option 1 - 240z: I've heard these drive like they are on rails. I'd likely eventually set it up for BSP using a 2.8L engine out of a 280z. The biggest pro of this setup is cost... a chassis can be had for ~3k and I can hack at it all I like with out having to be upset about ruining the cars resale value. Smaller tires and less power mean less cost to race as well. If I ever got bored of it, I could always consider moving into EM (or wherever it might land) with something like an LS3 engine. 500+ HP in a 2400 pound car could be amusing (although maybe not as drivable as I'd like). I also really like the idea of this just being a project car.

Option 2 - RX7: These appear to have a nice mix of handling and power right out of the box. Probably not the most competitive for the stock and street prepared classes, but I'm not trying to win nationals, I'm just trying to have fun. If I wanted to get serious about racing, I could drop a 3 rotor engine into it and run SSM. I could also eventually go with an LS1, LS2, or LS3 and run in a prepared class (XP?). A lot of options here, but quite a bit more costly.

Option 3 - C5/C6 Z06: A lot of my thoughts on the other 2 cars started by thinking about what I could drop a Corvette engine into. It dawned on me that I could also just start with a Corvette. I've raced a C5 Z06 once but was still very inexperienced (not saying I'm all that experienced now either) so while I could tell it handled very very nicely, it's hard for me to draw comparisons. My TransAm was a hodge podge of mostly stock components or poorly chosen upgrades at the time, so of course the Vette was a huge jump up. But how does the handling of a Z06 compare to the RX7 and 240Z? This would be the most costly initial setup, but a lot less work to do to get it ready to race. The downside there is I wouldn't really see it as a project car, and that's part of what I'm looking for.

Are there any other well balanced, great handling cars I should think about? I'd prefer something a little bit older, at least a few years old, so that used setups are a good option.

This post has been edited by JustinID: Apr 17 2009, 07:10 PM

[Todd]

an LS1 definitely fits in a miata...its just about how much you want it there. I have a buddy local that built an LS1 T56 car with a Ford 8.8 rear. It was insanely fast but was really hard to handle at autox. He used an 02 Z06 motor with ported heads and a big cam. ~460 HP at the wheels I have another buddy with a turbo-ed miata w/1.8 swap that makes about ~260 at the wheels. That is a much easier car to handle at autox. The same guy also used to have an 90 RX7 w/ a LT1/T56 swap. That car was difficult to handle at autox but much of that might have been setup since it was sprung WAY too stiff with 18" rims and 30 series tires. I came very close to buying the car when he sold it...but didn't want the cost to make it what I wanted.